The Post Office

Over the past few days, so much has happened.  I made the walk down the mountain to the post office on Thursday, only to find that we arrived 1 minute past closing time.  So again on Friday, I walked down to the post office with my host sister, and finally mailed my first letter!  Here’s a quick glimpse into my post office experiences:

-at 2:00pm on Friday, we begin walking down the mountain.  Now, I know you may all have an experience where you felt like you didn’t belong, but this was extreme for me.  I feel safe here, but a little bit out of the ordinary J.  I am a celebrity here, I suppose.  Taxis and cars all honk at me, people yell at me, others run up to touch my hand, and most people stop conversations just to stare.  I guess I can understand that, but it gets old in a big hurry.  But the most interesting part to me is that my host sister and brother who were with me on these 2 trips don’t seem to be phased at all.  They are so understanding and kind to me, they treat me as if there is no difference between us at all, this is really true Christian love, and I LOVE IT!  But, one woman touched my face, another man touched my hands, the only ones who didn’t react to my presence were the cows and goats.   We finally made it to the post office, and I was ready to sprint inside and hide.  But I should have known: more people. 

When we left at 2, I asked Ranewa if we had any other places she needed to go, since we were going to be by the shops anyway.  She said no, we wouldn’t have time,  today was just a post office run.  That was fine, but I didn’t really get it.  But now, after my time there, I understand.  We arrived home around 4:45.  That’s almost a 3 hour post office excursion.  When we got inside, I counted 10 people in line, Not so bad.  But, after 20 minutes went by and we had yet to move 1 place in line, I understood.  Man, is the American lifestyle fast paced!  I could barely handle standing in line for an hour until every little thing began to get on my nerves.  The heat was killer, a woman behind me kept chewing her gum, another woman kept standing close to be able to touch me, and no one seemed to be in a hurry.  I just took a deep breath and thought that this is where my mindset needs to change.  What’s the big deal?  As long as the letter gets sent eventually, all will be fine. 

So we get out after 1 ½ hrs of waiting, and I asked if that is the normal wait time.  “No,” she said, “that’s the fastest I’ve ever gotten through the post office!” Wow, I may not be able to take many more trips there J.